Clemency bid may offer a small reprieve for Bali Nine pair

TWO Australian religious leaders have pleaded for the lives of Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammad called on Indonesian President Joko Widodo to save the men.

They met with Mr Widodo who's consideration of another drug smuggler's clemency bid has offered a small reprieve for Chan and Sukumaran.

"Our request today is for clemency or a commuted sentence for Andrew and Myuran so as to allow them to be further rehabilitated and to execute would prematurely end these lives, robbing both of them and our communities of the opportunity for ongoing repentance and rehabilitation," Archbishop Fisher and Grand Mufti Mohammad said in a statement.

The Indonesian government told the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that Chan and Sukumaran would face the firing squad this month.

But the executions could be delayed as Nigerian drug runner Silvester Obiekwe waits for the Indonesian president to reject his clemency bid.

Chan and Sukumaran are facing execution for their involvement in the Bali Nine heroin trafficking plan, which was thwarted by Indonesian authorities in April, 2005.

Chan, Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrence and Martin Stephens were busted with 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies at an Indonesian airport.

Sukumaran, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman were arrested at a Kuta hotel not long after the drug find.

According to media reports, Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said his office had received notification from the Bali prosecutor's office that Chan and Sukumaran were due for execution this month.

He said a date had not been decided.

If Obiekwe's push for freedom is unsuccessful, he is expected to join the execution list which contains Chan and Sukumaran's names.

President Joko Widodo said he would not give Obiekwe clemency. - APN NEWSDESK